Clothespin



Nov. 3, 1959 R. E. CARBAUH 2,910,753

CLOTHESPIN Filed Jan. 25, 1957 INVENTOR Ross/e7- f. CARBAUH ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent CLOTHESPIN Applicationlanuary 25, 1957, Serial No.636,355

1 Claim. c1. 24-138) This invention relates to Clothespins and moreparticularlyto clothespins ofthe one piece resilient type which exerts aspring like grip on the article to be hung.

A principal object of the present invention is the provision of animproved clothespin composed of resilient material such as plastic orthe like and of generally circular configuration having no projectinglegs or other protuberances and wherein the clothes or line grippingportions of the pin are confined entirely within the area defined by theouter periphery of the pin.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a clothespin of theabove character wherein the area between the outer periphery of the pinand the gripping portion is cut out to provide space permitting the pinsto be stacked on the fingers during clothes hanging and which provide areadily engaged handle for removing the pins from the clothes line whenthe wash is dry.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a clothespin whichdepends for its gripping action on the resilience of an outer ringsuitably slotted with inwardly projecting clothes engaging jaws whichmay be joined by an inner ring and wherein the outer ring alone or inconjunction with the inner ring exerts a spring like closing action onthe jaws to clamp the clothes to the line with a force that increases asthe pin is moved downwardly onto the line.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of circulareasily handled clothes pins which are capable of being neatly packagedin tubular containers for shipment, for display in retailestablishments, or for storage at their place of use.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of clothespinswhich may be readily left on the clothesline after the clothes have beenremoved.

Other objects and their attendant advantages will become apparent as thefollowing detailed description is read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of the clothespin of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig.1.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are front elevational views respectively of second,third and fourth embodiments of the present invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1 there is shown a clothespin which maybe made of plastic or other suitable material, having a ring-like outerportion 12 provided with a slot 14 having opposed camming surfaces 16forming an entrance for a clothes line between two opposed jaw members18 which project inwardly into the circular area 20 defined by the innerwalls of the ring member 12. Integrally connecting the upper or innerends of the jaw members 18 is an inner ring 22 defining a circularopening 24 which is connected to the exterior of the pin by way of theslot 14. Each jaw is correspondingly notched as at 26 and 28 to provideopposed gripice ping surfaces when the pin has been forced downwardlyover clothes on a clothesline.

The space 20 between the outer and inner rings 12, 22 provides a fingergrip or handle for manipulating the clothespin and in addition thisspace permits the rings to have a spring-like flexibility tending toreturn the jaws to the position of the drawing when spread apart bybeing forced onto a clothesline. It will be apparent that because of thelength of the lever arm between the top of the pin and the entrance tothe slot 14, less force will be required to spread the jaws sufiicientlyfor the clothesline to be accommodated in the outer notches 28 than itwould be for the line to be engaged in the inner notches 26.Consequently, holding pressure of the jaws increases as the pin is moveddown over the line and there will be substantially greater holding powerwhen the clothes are engaged on the line in the inner notches 26 than inthe outer notches 28. It will be observed that not only does the outerring provide spring like flexibility for the jaws but spring action isexerted adjacent the point of entrance of the line and clothes thustending to prevent a permanent jaw spread at this point which normallyoccurs after prolonged use in clothespins of the usual type havingoutwardly extending legs.

The opening 24 defined by the inner ring 22 can be used to stack thepins of the invention on the fingers when clothes are being hung andalso can serve as a means for supporting the pins on the line after theclothes have been removed. In addition the inner ring can be used as ahandle for removing the pins from the line. In order to accommodate thefingers it should be understood that the opening 24 can have anyconvenient size.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3 is substantially thesame as that shown in Fig. 1 except that only a single notch 30 isprovided in shorter jaws 32 and an inner ring 34 joining the jaws 32; istherefore located nearer the bottom edge of the outer ring 36. Thus aconsiderably larger cutout space 3 8 is. provided between the inner andthe outer rings to accommodate the fingers of the user, particularlywhere it may be desired to stack several pins on the fingers whenclothes are being hung. Additionally by having the inner ring nearer theouter ring greater force is required to open the jaws and consequentlythere is provided greater gripping power of the jaws on the clothes thanin the embodiment of Fig. 1.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the outer ring 40 and the arrangementof the jaws 42 are substantially the same as in the previous embodimentsexcept that the jaws are not provided with an inner ring connectingtheir inner ends. As in the previous cases, the ring in exerts itsspring action at the point of entrance of the clothesline to prevent apermanent spread in the jaws after prolonged use. The jaws 42 in theembodiment of Fig. 4 are provided with respective inner and outernotches 44, 46 and, as in the case of Fig. 1 and for the same reasons,greater gripping power is exerted by the inner notches 44 than by theouter ones 46.

The embodiment disclosed in Fig. 5 is substantially the same as in Fig.1 except that here the inner ring 56 is concentrically disposed withrespect to the outer ring 52 thus providing a lever arm intermediate thelengths of the arms in the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 3 and with acorrespondingly intermediate force being exerted by the jaws on theclothes.

From the above description the manner of use of the clothespin of thepresent invention should be apparent. The invention provides a compactsubstantially circular clothespin having gripping jaws which areresiliently urged to clothes gripping position by the action of eitherone or two spring-like rings with one of the springs acting at all timeson a point adjacent the entrance to the clothes-receiving jaws and thesecond ring, where used, acting on the opposite end of the jaws toprovide assured spring-like gripping action of the jaws on the clothes.Furthermore, with the arrangement described, an increased grippingaction is achieved as the jaws are forced over the clothes and line toinsure retention of even heavy wash on the line. In addition, convenientfinger engaging spaces are provided which serve either as means forstacking the pins on the fingers during hanging or as handles to removethe pins from the dried clothes. In addition, the opening afiorded bythe inner ring, where used, or by a single outer ring atford convenientmeans for storing the pins on the clothes line when not in use. Itshould also be noted that with a circular configuration afforded by thepins of the present invention, they are susceptible of being packaged intubular form where they provide attractive displays on retail counters.It should be apparent that the pin of the invention is susceptible ofvarious modifications without, however, departing from the scope andspirit of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A plastic clothespin comprising a flat circular resilient ring having anouter peripheral face and an inner peripheral face defining a circularopening and having a slot extending from the outer peripheral facethrough said ring, a pair of opposed notched jaw members each integrallyjoined at one end to the inner peripheral face of said ring on oppositesides of said slot and defining therewith a line-gripping passageextending inwardly into said circular opening defined by said innerperipheral face of said ring, a second resilient ring having an outerperipheral face and an inner peripheral face defining a circular openingof less size than said first opening and having a diameter greater thanthe width of said passage, said second ring having a slot extending fromthe outer peripheral face through said ring, the opposite ends of saidjaw members being integrally joined to said second ring on oppositesides of the slot extending therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,591,477 Tegarty Apr. 1, 1952 2,825,952 Van Driel Mar. 11, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 184,549 Germany Jan. 25, 1956 437,225 Italy June 26, 1948

